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TIFR to launch 10 balloon flights for various scientific studies, including pollution

TIFR to launch 10 balloon flights for various scientific studies, including pollution

The Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) will launch 10 balloon flights with the help of ISRO and the Department of Atomic Energy for various scientific studies, including pollution. The balloon flights will carry scientific

The Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) will launch 10 balloon flights with the help of ISRO and the Department of Atomic Energy for various scientific studies, including pollution.

The balloon flights will carry scientific instruments for research at high altitudes and will be launched from Hyderabad for scientific purposes from November 15 to April 30, 2017.

In a statement, TIFR's scientist-in-charge B Suneel Kumar said that the balloons are expected to reach heights between 30 km and 42 km depending upon the experiments being undertaken.

The balloons are made of twin (Polyethylene) plastic films, ranging in diameters from 50 metres to 85 metres and normally launched between 2000 hrs and 0630 hours.

The instruments will be kept at these heights for periods ranging from a few to 10 hours and then they will be released from the balloon. After release, the instruments will come down to ground on large coloured parachutes.

The balloon drifts will be on the Visakhapatnam-Hyderabad- Sholapur line, in the areas of AP, North Karnataka and Maharashtra states, he said.

He appealed people those who find the parachute and instruments not to remove them from its place of landing and to telephone or send message to the address given on various packages.

"They are also requested to contact the nearest Police Station, Post Office and district authorities about the finding. Instruments are kept inside wooden cages or large aluminum framework/containers for safety."The instruments are extremely sensitive and valuable, scientific data will be lost if they are tampered. There may be high voltages on some of the instruments, which will be dangerous, but only if the instruments are opened, up," he said.

No reward will be paid if it is found that anything has been opened or tampered with, he added.